Welcome!

I'm so glad you are here!
I'm Kellie, creator of Blackboard Kitchen. I share tidbits from my world here: recipes, how-to videos, the occasional home improvement project, and funny things my students say. You can find out more about me on the "Meet Kellie" page!

Week 3 is a delicious and fresh tribute to the bounty of August. We are currently inthe peak-producing season for local farms and gardens; zucchinis, strawberries, and tomatoes are ripe, gorgeous, and bountiful. I tried to work the in-season produce in to as many meals as I could this week, so if you have a home garden this week is definitely for you! (Also for us poor, apartment-bound, garden-less souls as well…)

In other news, I am trying out a new format for the weekly layout – please let me know what you think! Rather than post all recipes up front, I’m going to post just one recipe per day. Check back daily to see the details! Recipe 3.1 will be up on Sunday. Like the format, love it, dislike it? Send me a message and let me know.

Grocery List

Estimated Cost: $75

Produce

2 garlic bulbs

1 large bunch fresh basil

4 zucchinis

1 yellow onion

Fresh thyme

3 lbs. tomatoes

8 russet potatoes (do you have any left from week 1? I did, so I did not buy any more)

2 avocados

1 bunch radishes

1 bunch cilantro

1 red onion

1 large head of lettuce

1 case strawberries

1 lemon

Meat

½ lb. hot Italian sausage

1 lb. flank steak (or any thin, flat steak equivalent)

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast

Pantry

½ lb. pasta (your choice – I used spaghetti because I had it on hand)

Panko bread crumbs

Parmesan cheese (do you have 1 cup left from week 1? That is all you need)

White tortillas (if you can, buy these fresh!!! The flavor is so much better and your dish will be amazing)

1 bottle grapeseed oil (take the opportunity to add this oil to your pantry – we will use it everytime we make a salad!)

1.5 qt. bottle vegetable oil

1 lb. shell pasta

Bakery

1 loaf ciabatta bread (I purchased mine at the Farmer’s Market)

Dairy

Eggs (you only need 1 for this week’s menu)

1 cup feta cheese

12 oz container of fresh mozzarella cheese

Grocery Notes

You might be wondering about 3 items on this week’s grocery list: panko, grapeseed oil, and fresh mozzarella.

Panko breadcrumbs are used similarly to regular breadcrumbs. The difference is that they are lighter and more crispy. I use panko when I’m looking for something to have a real crispy exterior – they are delicious. We’ll use them in our stuffed zucchini this week.

Grapeseed oil is my go-to oil for salads. It is lighter than olive oil, and the flavor is distinctively fruity. You can buy a bottle for about $5-7 and it will last you several months.

Fresh mozzarella is the way to go this week; it is a bit more pricey than regular mozzarella cheese, but buy it fresh for this week’s caprese sandwich.

Pantry Items

As always, there are several ingredients that you will need this week that are not on the grocery list. Out of your pantry you will need: olive oil, basalmic vinegar, crushed red pepper flakes, salt (I use kosher salt), freshly ground black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Make sure you have all these items on hand! Note that vegetable oil is typically considered a pantry item, but I added it to the grocery list because you need a large quantity of it this week (you will use it to fry your potato fries). Also, after this week, grapeseed oil will be considered a pantry item since it was on this week’s list.